As an introduction to Michael Lewis, whose writing we will examine in class today, you read this overview of his publications. After you read it, you composed a one- or two-paragraph journal entry that addressed these questions: (1) Two of Lewis’ books on one subject have both been adapted for film. What is the subject, and what are the titles of the two books (and films)? (2) A third book of his, one devoted to a different subject, has also been adapted for film. What is the subject, and what is the title of the book (and film)?
As we read the first chapter of one of his books, consider what elements of his writing would attract filmmakers to his work. We will closely examine the opening of the chapter, paying special attention to its repetition of words and phrases. Later in class, we will read the remainder of the chapter and you will address in writing why Lewis may have chosen to delay the continuation of the action that he depicts in the opening paragraph.
As a segue from your Scrabble debriefing to your study of Michael Lewis’s “Back Story,” the cartoon below is included on your group assignment sheet.
Food Cheeseheads for thought: This cartoon ran in The New Yorker shortly after the Packers lost the NFC title game to the 49ers and shortly before San Francisco lost Super Bowl LIV to the Chiefs. Would the Cheeseheads depicted here have opted to play Scrabble rather than watch the game that their team lost its chance to play, or would they have savored schadenfreude, watching the 49ers lose to Kansas City?
Next Up
In class on Wednesday, you will begin planning and drafting your second major writing assignment, your analysis. The chapter of Michael Lewis’s writing that we examine in class today and the other texts we have studied thus far in English 1103–“MeTalk Pretty One Day,” “The Day Language Came into Life,” “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” the excerpt from the first chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird,” and “The School“–are among the pieces of writing that may serve as the subject of your upcoming analysis.
Jane Lucas 